S. 1975 — Dark Web Interdiction Act of 2025

This section states congressional findings that the dark web's anonymity enables illicit marketplaces for drugs, weapons, malware, and other illegal goods; contributes to the U.S. substance abuse crisis; hinders law enforcement investigations despite successes such as Operation SpecTor (288 arrests across three continents; seizures of 850 kilograms of drugs including 64 kilograms of fentanyl, 117 firearms, and $53.4 million in cash and virtual currencies); and requires enhanced collaboration among Federal, State, Tribal, local, and international partners. It expresses the sense of Congress that the dark web threatens public health and national security and that Congress should support law enforcement investigations and prosecutions while increasing available investigative and prosecutorial tools.

This section defines, for purposes of the Act, the following terms: (1) dark web, as given in new subsection (i) of section 401 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841), as added by section 4; (2) Director, meaning the Director of the task force; (3) illicit marketplace, meaning a dark web website on which individuals use virtual currency for transactions involving drugs, weapons, malware, counterfeit currency, stolen credit cards, personal identifying information, forged documents, or other illicit goods; (4) Indian Tribe, as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304); (5) opioid, as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802); and (6) task force, meaning the Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement Task Force established under section 5(a)(1).

This section establishes offenses under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) for knowingly or intentionally delivering, distributing, or dispensing a controlled substance by means of the dark web (except as authorized by the CSA), or aiding or abetting such activity (as defined in 18 U.S.C. 2). It defines the dark web as a portion of the internet with hidden sites and services not indexed by search engines and accessible only via specific anonymizing devices, software, routing, or configurations. It directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 994, to amend the Federal Sentencing Guidelines to provide a 2-level increase above the otherwise applicable sentence for such violations.

This section establishes in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) the Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement Task Force, headed by a Director appointed by the President with Senate advice and consent, to detect, disrupt, and dismantle illicit marketplaces. The task force comprises representatives from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Defense, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and Department of Justice; the Director may consult state, tribal, local, and international entities. To achieve its purpose, the task force must (1) conduct proactive and reactive investigations and forensic/cyberforensic exams; (2) provide training and assistance to prosecutors and law enforcement agencies; (3) develop best practices for collecting, maintaining, and sharing dark web and virtual asset evidence; (4) build multijurisdictional partnerships, information-sharing procedures, and access to specialized equipment; (5) create novel approaches targeting emerging technologies for opioid distribution; (6) enhance international collaboration; and (7) undertake other necessary activities. The task force must also provide FBI personnel and other agencies with guidance and training on recognizing dark web evidence, collecting relevant data in FBI systems, information sharing, and related topics. Not later than one year after enactment and annually thereafter, the FBI Director, acting through the task force Director, must report to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees on task force activities, investigative methods and effectiveness, performance metrics (e.g., investigations, marketplaces disrupted, arrests), partnerships, international coordination, legislative recommendations, and dark web transaction financing.

This section directs the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Treasury and Homeland Security, to submit to Congress, not later than one year after enactment, a report on the use of virtual currencies in distributing opioids through dark web illicit marketplaces. The report must include (1) a summary of how virtual currencies finance such transactions and are exchanged (e.g., via peer-to-peer networks, money transmitters, or financial institutions); (2) the number of instances involving virtual currency use; (3) the most common types of virtual currencies used; (4) an assessment of investigative capacity, including assistance to financial institutions, access to records from virtual currency operators, training for law enforcement and prosecutors, and international coordination; and (5) recommendations for additional congressional or legislative action to detect, disrupt, and dismantle such marketplaces.

This section expresses the sense of Congress that it should evaluate and, if necessary, update the definition of "dark web" in section 401(i) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841(i)), as added by section 4 of this Act, at least once every five years.

This section establishes a severability clause providing that if any provision of the Act or its amendments, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the Act and its amendments, and their application to other persons or circumstances, remain unaffected.